The Other Hero
by xXShikigamiXx
Summary: Pokemon ConquestXB&W. Miharu(Hero) leaves Ransei to escape his sister's(Heroine) shadow after she is crowned warlord of Aurora. He ends up in the lands across the sea where he meets a Torchic and two rookie trainers who invite him to join them on their Pokemon journey.
1. Leaving

Pokemon Conquest fic.

This plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone.

I don't own anything.

* * *

Aurora was in celebration.

Today was the day that the new warlord would be crowned and everyone was in attendance. The farmers and other citizens cheered outside of the castle as the new leader stepped forward. She smiled and waved jovially to everyone, her Eevee beside her. Behind her, her mother and other family members stood tall and erect and full of pride at her succession.

Cheers of "Lady Koharu" resounded out among the civilians made Koharu blush slightly out of embarrassment and laugh.

Her eyes scanned the crowd, gazing upon each face that was there. But far at the edge of the crowd, she missed one person. He was leaning against one of the buildings, watching everyone with his periphereal vision. His blue eyes were fixated on the pony-tailed girl who continued to accept the praises and made her vows to be a good ruler.

He really hadn't expected anything less of her. Her bubbly, optimistic personality was a social magnet and it gave people a good first impression of her. But for him, the personality did the exact opposite. His energy felt drained and he felt small compared to her. Her presence always overwhelmed his and mothered him, turning him into a ghost among crowds.

"Feh..." he turned and walked away from the celebration. He wandered the empty streets, waiting for everything to end. Eventually, one of his relatives showed up, "Miharu."

The boy, Miharu, turned to look at her. She had a infuriating pitying look in her eyes and he bit back the urge to snap. Miharu silently followed her back to the house where the rest of the family would be waiting.

He'd have to face them eventually.

* * *

Miharu sat outside in the dark, away from the brightly lit place where the celebration feast was being held. He had taken to eating his own dinner outside and not with everyone else, mostly because he didn't want to deal with his family anymore. Not that they really cared, they were too busy congratulating Koharu. If anything, some of the more pushier ones would be chastising him for being glum on his older sister's "special day."

He put a hand over his eyes and growled lowly. It made him so mad...

"Miharu."

Miharu stiffened at the smooth, terse voice. He whipped around with wide eyes to face his mother. She was gazing at him with hard eyes and he could feel the disapproval radiating from it. It made him flinch inwardly and want to bow his head in shame.

"Mother..." he said quietly. Her face never changed from its stony expression as she stepped forward so that she was standing right beside him. He kept his eyes downcast towards the ground, not looking up at her. Sounds of nocturnal pokemon were heard throughout the garden, out and about to enjoy the night air. Miharu listened to them with his mother, niether saying anything to each other for a long time.

Behind them, laughter erupted followed by muffled talking. Apparently someone had said something funny.

"You weren't at your sister's coronation."

"I was... from a distance."

She didn't say anything in response, though she seemed to be judging his answer. Miharu could feel anxiety build up within him. Even if he didn't have the best relationship with his family, he still had that want of approval from his mother. Even if she continually looked at him with disappointment, just once, he wanted her approval.

"Do you have something to say?" her question caught him off guard. He finally looked up at her again with wide eyes. Was he really that obvious? Figures, mothers always knew when their children were thinking about something. Miharu swallowed hard, his heart speeding up a little. He took a shaky breath, "I've decided I'm... going to leave."

He said it.

He finally said the words.

A small part of him inside shook in fear as he awaited his mother's response. What would she say? While he waited, his mother closed her eyes in contemplation, her mouth downturned a slight frown.

A Minccino ran across the garden and came to a stop, it's tail twitching. Its eyes landed on the two humans and watched with curiosity. Miharu 's hands curled into fists, his patience starting to fray with his nerves, "W-well?"

His voice cracked at the end as he tried to restrain his emotions. He wouldn't break down, not now. She turned around and began to walk away from him. Miharu gritted his teeth again, nothing, no answer. When she was gone, he slammed one fist down on the wooden walkway.

The Minccino that had watched him was startled and ran away from the volatile human.

"Ah..." he gasped a little upon seeing the Normal-Type run away. He sighed again and put his face in his hands. Not even the pokemon wanted to be around him. Miharu got up and walked back to his room and curled up in his futon.

* * *

The next morning, fog had covered much of Aurora and the sun was barely above the horizon. Miharu slid open the paper doors to the morning air. A satchel filled with items for his journey was slung over his shoulder and tied so it wouldn't fall off easily.

"Everyone should still be asleep," he said to himself. He walked out and slid the door shut softly. As he walked towards the gate he thought about what he was going to do. He didn't have a pokemon of his own and he hadn't been able to link with any of the ones in Aurora.

_'Maybe I'll be able to find one at wherever it is I'm going to,'_ he thought to himself, trying to be a little optimistic. Upon reaching the gate he came to a stop. Standing there was his mother.

She was watching him, no expression on her face. He stared back from across the courtyard. He knew what was going on, she was watching to see if he'd back out, to not go through with his declaration. His hand shook a little and he gripped the string of his satchel. No, he wouldn't back out of this.

He forced himself to take a step foward that turned into a walk. He walked past his mother, taking great care to not look at her lest he crumble completely and lose his resolution. The sound of his shoes crunching on the dirt path was louder than it should've been to him. He left his mother at the gate, not once looking back at her as the mist covered up her form, leaving only the dark silhouette of the castle.

Miharu's walk slowly sped up as he went further and further into the surroundings of Aurora Castle. Then he began to run, running as fast as he could. An Audino looked up from its spot to see Miharu run by. It's ears twitched as it felt his heart.

A heart full of sadness.

* * *

Kinda a weak opening. This fic will be focusing on the Male MC, since Fem MC has a lot of love already.

Review, no flames.


	2. The Link

Thank you to the two reviewers who reviewed; I'm happy that there people who are interested in this fic. (I think it's in serious need of a beta though.)

I don't own anything save the plot.

Oh, and for future reference: Miharu's clothes are the same as the Rank I appearance, but they will be different in the later stages.

* * *

"Land ho!" the captain's voice sounded out across the boat. The voice had made Miharu jerk his head up in a half awake state and accidently bump into wall behind him. He yelped in pain and a hand flew up to cup it gingerly.

"Augh... Ow..." he lightly rubbed it and hissed. After awhile, the pain faded away to a dull throb until it was completely gone.

_'What a way to wake up,'_ Miharu thought to himself sourly. The pain had gotten rid of the usual grogginess though, so there was some silver lining from the painful awakening. He reached over and grabbed his satchel after stretching out his stiff limbs, loosening up a little. After leaving Aurora, he had gone to the nearest port and boarded a boat that was headed for sea. It had cost him a good bit of gold, but he had a substantial amount that would last long if he was smart about it.

He walked up from the lower deck and shielded his eyes from the sudden ray of sun in his face. The sounds of the ocean hit his ears, along with the cries of a few bird pokemon that lived on the coasts. Sailors ran to and fro along the deck taking care of tasks and lowering the sails as they pulled into port. He walked up to the head of the boat to take a look at the town. It was a small seaside village with boats and a open market by the docks.

Seeing it made his heart beat in anticipation as he was overcome with excitement.

Once the boat had docked, Miharu disembarked and headed for the market that was close by the docks. Vendors had all sorts of sundries and trinkets laid out on display for all of the people in the market to see. His head swiveled back and forth to take in everything that was going on around him. It wasn't too different from Aurora, but the goods that were there were definitely different.

He stopped by one to browse a vendor that had strange candies called "Rage Candy Bars."

_'I've never heard of these before,'_ he mused to himself silently.

"Excuse, ma'am,?" he called out to the female vendor. The elderly woman gave him a kind smile, "You've come here from Ransei, haven't you."

"Um... yes," Miharu replied, "I was just wondering if you could-"

He never got to finish his sentence when something yellow and orange came barreling out of no where and slammed headfirst into his head. Miharu cried out in pain from the sudden impact and fell to the ground.

"Oh my!"

"It's back again?"

"This is the third time this week..."

"Torchic, again?!" the female vendor yelled. Miharu's vision spun and his head was ringing from another bump to the head. Today just was not his day was it?

_'What did I do to deserve this?'_ he wondered to himself, _'Hold on... did they say "Torchic?"'_

"Tor... chic..." the orange blob moaned. Miharu pushed himself into a semi-sitting position and he was able to see what had run into him. It was an orange and yellow with a feather crest atop of its head, and it had the features of a bird pokemon. The Torchic as the others had dubbed lifted its had and looked at him with its two black eyes.

He gazed back at it, unable to move and feeling mesmerized. He felt strangely drawn to the equally strange pokemon that was currently on him. The moment was broken, however, by the Torchic suddenly jumping on his head and bounding off and away from town, leaving an imprint of its talon on his face. Miharu was left to wonder just what had happened while the female vendor fussed over him.

* * *

After the little fiasco with the wild Torchic that had been running amok(The vendor had told him it happened quite frequently), Miharu was able to do a little shopping for a map and had left the seaside village into the nearby forest. He had the map partly opened in his hands and was trying to mentally plot out his route as studied it.

He made a small frustrated sound in his throat as he took an even close look at it, "Am I really going to have to go through a huge forest?"

It wasn't that he disliked the idea, it was just that it was much too easy to get lost even if one had a map. He sighed and put the map away so he could pay much more attention to where he was going. Once the item was stored safely, he could finally take in his surroundings.

The air was different compared to Aurora, mostly because it carried a little bit of the sea in the wind. Not only that, there were plants he had never seen before scattered about with huge trees that would've been only seen in the kingdom of Greenleaf. He hummed a little and climbed over a fallen tree that was on the path.

Bird pokemon fluttered above the trees and forest pokemon crawled and bounded about the forest floor. Some of them were kinds he had never seen before, like that Torchic from before.

_'I wonder if it lives here.'_

Snap.

He looked over his shoulder at the sound of a branch snapping. There was nothing there. The warrior pursed his lips in thought then shrugged and went back to walking.

The bush he had been looking at rustled a little and a orange head popped out.

"Chic!" Torchic chirped, shaking the leaves off his head. The fire-type looked back up to see the human he had run into walking away from him. Torchic leaped out and ran behind a fallen log to hide and peeked out. Something about that human drew the fire-type to him, which was odd for Torchic to say the least. Sure, he liked some of the humans in the village, but not enough that he'd actively follow one of the around, let alone a complete stranger.

As Torchic was too preoccupied with his thoughts, he failed to notice that the human he had been tailing was gone.

"Chic...?!" Torchic stopped. He flailed a little and then picked up his pace.

A sudden Poison Sting attack hit the ground in front of the fire-type, sending him flying back from an explosion. Torchic let out a surprised cheep and rolled a few times backwards before skidding to a halt. He shakily got to his feet and stoopd up.

"Aria!" several Ariados moved in his way. Torchic chirped indignantly at the Bug pokemon who only responded with trying to hit him with a Sludge Bomb. Torchic evaded their attacks and ran forward to give one of them a well-aimed Peck. The Ariados yelped and its two comrades were quick to counter-attack. Duo Bug Bites hit Torchic eliciting a pained cry.

Compared to the older pokemon, Torchic was weaker despite his type advantage. The chick pokemon staggered a little then collapsed. He couldn't move at all. The beating he had taken was too much for him. Three Sludge Bombs were heading his way and he wouldn't be able to get away.

He'd never be able to see that human.

Just as the Sludge Bombs were about to hit him a hand shot out and grabbed him. Torchic felt the air rush past him and he looked up. The blue eyes of the human he had been following were on the Ariados who were attacking him. The Bug pokemon chittered angrily at the human, to which he only backed up and then turned to flee, clutching Torching close to him.

"Don't worry," the human said, "I've got you."

* * *

Miharu panted once he had finally lost the Ariados. They had been persistent in their pursuit but he had finally lost them when he reached the outskirts of the forest. It was evening and the stars were already peeking out in the blue sky with slivers of orange and gray clinging to the edges of the horizon. With a sigh of relief, he sat down and placed Torchic down next to him.

"That was close..."

"Torchic," Torchic chirped and looked back up at him. He looked down and smiled brightly, "Hey. Glad to see you're all right."

He leaned back a little on the heels of his hands, "Though to be honest, I wasn't expecting you to have followed me like that."

"Chic..." Torchic chirruped. He really just wanted to know why he felt drawn to the other human. Miharu tilted his head, "Is that so? You wanted to know why you felt a connection with me?"

At Torchic's surprised look, Miharu explained why he could understand Torchic. Most of it having to do with that they were compatible with one another. Miharu patted Torchic on the head, "You're the first pokemon I've met that I've felt this connection with... It's strange to be honest. Almost like I found a missing piece I never noticed I was missing. I guess this is what it feels like; finally finding the pokemon you're meant to be with."

Torchic blinked up at Miharu, then chirped in happiness. A faint glow surrounded both of them and merged together to signify their link with one another.

* * *

End Chapter.


	3. Arrival

Next chapter here.

I don't own Pokemon.

* * *

Sunlight bathed the earth with its warm radiance, drawing out the pokemon who had slept during the night. Miharu stretched slightly as he kept walking down the dirt path. Beside him, Torchic strutted with a confident gait as he chirruped happily, his feathers being warmed from the golden sun. Miharu's eyes scanned the horizon and when he saw the break in the tree line, he felt his heart beat in excitement.

Upon exiting the forest, the duo found themselves overlooking a small town by the ocean below them.

"What do you think, Torchic?"

"Chic!" the fire-type trilled. Miharu nodded, his eyes lighting up, "Yeah. It really is beautiful."

The both of them resumed their walk, heading for the town that awaited them below.

* * *

Within the town itself, people milled about doing their daily routines and chatting with each other. At the entrance, a boy and girl were walking side by side with a Oshawott and Minccino at their sides.

They were both new trainers from Nuvema Town, which wasn't uncommon for the people of Accumula Town. The boy of the duo lifted up the rim of his cap and let his sight roam about, "Hey, Touko, do you see Prof. Juniper?"

Touko shook her head, "Nope."

The both of them walked further in with their pokemon following them. Touko pursed her lips a little as they walked, trying to spot the professor amongst the crowd of people that were walking to and fro from their daily lives. She turned to her twin, "Do you see her, Touya?"

"No..."

They both sighed in unison. Oshawott and Minccino watched the two worriedly as they continued on into the city. The two siblings from Nuvema Town began to search for the professor, and their freinds as well. Bel and Cheren had gotten to the town before they had which wasn't much of a surprise since both had been rather impatient to start their journies.

Touya made an annoyed sound, folding his arms behind his head, "Profe~ssor!"

As if by magic, his plea had garnered a response from the one they had been looking for.

"There you two are!"

They both perked up and brightened immediately, "Professor!"

Prof. Juniper was standing in front of the Pokemon Center with Cheren and Bel at her side. Cheren had his same dry expression on his face, as always. Bel waved to them both excitedly, "You finally caught up!"

"Yes. It took you long enough."

"Nyeh to you too, Cheren," Touya said, sticking his tongue out at the other boy. Touko stifled a laugh at her twin's antics by putting her hand over mouth. Oshawott and Mincinno trilled their greetings to the professor who had raised them. She smiled kindly, "How are you both getting along with your pokemon?"

"Great!"

"We've been getting along just fine!"

Prof. Juniper nodded, "That's good. Now then! It's time for me to show you around the Pokemon Center and its functions!"

The four kids began to follow her, Bel straggling a little. She yelped when she bumped into something hard on her left side, "Ow!"

She held her left shoulder that stung and looked over to what she had run into. It was an older male wearing what looked like light samurai armor with a huge red bandana tied around his neck. He also had a golden headcrest attached to a black headband that was barely visible from underneath his bangs. Bel noted that the headcrest had the appearance of outstretched wings.

Blue eyes looked at her with slight surprise, "I'm sorry, miss."

"Ah... um..."

The male turned away from her after his apology and walked off. A small bird-like pokemon glanced at her briefly before making a "chic" sound and trotting after the male.

'Eh? That pokemon...'

"Bel! C'mon, we're going to leave you behind!"

The blond flinched and began running over to the others. Further down the block, Miharu made a quizzical kind of expression, "The people here are... strange."

"Torchic!" his partner chirped. Blue eyes softened, "I'll get used to it? If you say so, Torchic."

Torchic nodded his head sagely as if to say, "Of course I'm right."

* * *

Miharu marveled at the huge stone "village" he had entered. Everything was different. The buildings, the people, and there were a lot of things that he had never seen before. Even the food too! Not once had he seen a stand or small shop that sold ponigiri.

They had "hamburgers" and "hotdogs" with a bunch of other things. Miharu was crouched down inside of one such store, observing the food in the display case. Th lady behind the counter was looking at him funny. She wasn't the only one as other customers sent him curious and confused glances. He didn't pay much attention to them though. He was much too excited by all of these foreign delicacies and knick-knacks.

Torchic seemed a bit embarrassed by his human partner's enthusiasm. At the same time, the fire-type hadn't been expecting such a strong reaction, given how quiet Miharu had been at times.

"Hey, Torchic, which one do you want?"

"Chic!" Torchic brightened up at the question. Finally! Food! Miharu smiled widely at his enthusiasm and nodded his head, "Yeah, pick whatever you want."

The shopkeeper watched the exchange, unsure of what she should be thinking at the moment. She was left further puzzled when the boy paid her not in Pokeyen but gold coins.

"Thank you very much."

"C-come again..."

Miharu and Torchic both left the store with their treats in hand. Both of them found a place under a tree by a red building with a circular object as a giant insignia on it. The warrior sat down and placed the newly bought food on the ground for his partner, "Here you go."

Torchic chirped his thanks and began to peck furiously into his food. Miharu bit into his and relished the taste, "This is good."

He swallowed and took two more bites out of the food. While eating, Miharu watched the world go by around him. The people of this place were walking about, chattering happily and playing with pokemon of all sorts. He had never seen anything like it and none of them appeared to be warriors of any kind. His lighthearted expression was once more replaced by his more thoughtful one as he mulled over his new observations.

More thoughts came up as well. What would he do now that he was here? He had to learn more about this land and its working, or else his journey would become a rough one. After all, he had only brought enough gold to last him two months at best.

"Hmm," he hummed to himself. Torchic had finished his meal and made a content sound. A strange sound came through the air and the fire-type blinked, "Tor?"

Miharu noticed Torchic's sudden change, "Torchic, what is it?"

The fire-type didn't answer and instead started running to where a large gathering of people was. Miharu blinked and got up to his feet. He brushed off stray pieces of grass from his pants and jogged after the chick. He heard a man's voice speaking but couldn't make out the exct wording. Miharu pushed his way to the front, "Excuse me."

Once at the front of the crowd he was able to see the speaker. People dressed in hooded clothing with the letter P as a symbol on their clothes all stood in rows. The flags on either side of them had the same symbol. Before them was a one-eyed man with long green hair giving off an imposing aura and had introduced himself as Ghetsis. Just like a warlord...

Miharu felt himself tense up.

"I ask you all this: Do you think that maybe, only we believe that we and pokemon want and need each other?" the man asked to the group of people. They all began to murmur to each other in confusion. One row over of the crowd, Cheren, Touko, and Touya were standing together and listening to the man's speech. The twins felt puzzled by his words of pokemon shouldn't be dominated by humans and that they are better off when liberated.

"Ridiculous," Cheren huffed lowly, "There is no way pokemon and humans would separate that easily."

"But... those things he said, what if he's right about a few things?" Touko wondered. Her brother glanced down at his Oshawott with a worried expression, sharing his sister's discomfort. Oshawott and Minccino both drew closer to their trainers, offering tiny smiles of affection to ease their discomfort.

"Thank you for listening," Ghetsis finished his speech and the people behind him picked up their flags and marched off with him. The crowd of people who had been listening also dispersed as well, leaving only them and a strange green-haired boy behind. Miharu shared a glance with Torchic and was about to speak to him when a quiet male voice spoke up faster, "Your pokemon..."

Blue eyes swiveled to lock on to the speaker. The black and white wearing male who appeared to be a year older than him was eyeing him, and two other people who were a few feet away from him.

"Just now... they spoke."

Cheren's eyes narrowed, "Slow down, what are you talking about?"

Touko glanced over to Mincinno who was gazing at the newcomer. Touya stepped a little in front of his sister, "What do you mean, "They spoke?"

"So you can't hear them either... That is unfortunate," even though he said this, his tone of voice never once gave away the sense that he was disappointed. Miharu had regressed into a more reserved demeanor, Torchic following his example.

"My name is N," the male spoke again in the same lightning fast way he had before. Cheren replied in kind, though his tone was laced with caution, "I'm Cheren. These two are my friends; Touko and Touya. We were asked to complete the Pokedex, though I, personally, am aiming to become Champion."

"I see. And to do that you will be confining many pokemon into pokeballs.. and you?" N turned to Miharu this time. The other three finally took notice of the strange boy in armor who had a foreign pokemon by his side. Touya fished out his own Pokedex and scanned the pokemon while the exchange happened. The warrior met N's cool gaze with his own, "I am Miharu. My business is mine and Torchic's alone."

N blinked once, "Is that so? I am a trainer as well, but I have to wonder. Are your pokemon happy as they are?"

Tense silence pervaded the area from the sudden question. What was with these people asking all of these strange questions today? N scanned the three of them, seemingly ignoring Cheren's presence like he wasn't even there. Having to have reached whatever decision he had been debating, a cold smile with no hostility was sent towards Miharu, "You said your name was Miharu, correct? Let me hear your pokemon's voice once more."

"...?"

N brought out his pokeball and tossed it up into the air, "Come Purrloin, my friend!"

The purple cat appeared in a flash of light and looked battle ready. Miharu stood stunned by the display, only for Torchic to chirp at him and bring him back to the present.

_'I never expected my first battle to be like this,'_ he thought. Torchic ran in front of him and scraped his talons on the ground, ready to go. Miharu readied himself as well, "I'll show you what I'm made of!"

"Tor chic!"

"Rrrrawr!"

The pokemon gave out their battle cries and charged. Torchic jumped with the intent to tackle the cat pokemon to the ground, only for Purrloin to dodge the attack. A scratch attack was sent his way only to be dodged.

"Torchic, peck!"

At Miharu's order, the fire-type ran forward to land a solid hit on his opponent. Purrloin yelped in pain and skidded on the ground on its feet. N seemed deep in thought as the battle between the two of them raged on. His head would move this way and that at every chirp and shout Torchic would yell in response ot whatever it was Purrloin would say.

Miharu also heard Torchic's shouts and it would only spur him to win the battle. Heart beating in anticipation, Miharu gave out his last order, "Torchic, use ember!"

"Chic!" A torrent of small fireballs flew out of the chick pokemon's mouth. Purrloin shouted in pain and fell back onto the ground unconscious. Torchic breathed heavily but puffed his chest out in pride anyway. Miharu let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. N mumbled something to himself and returned Purrloin to her pokeball.

"..." N looked up, "As long as pokemon remain trapped in pokeballs they will never be perfect beings. I must change the world, because they are my friends."

With that cryptic statement, the green enigma left four very confused teenagers behind.

"... What was that about?" Touya asked to none of them in particular. Even though he didn't know it, he had voiced all of their thoughts in that one rhetorical question.

* * *

End chapter.

No, Miharu will not be getting one of the dragons. He gets different legendaries. I'm still leaning towards Darkrai and/or Giratina, mostly because they... I don't know, click with Miharu the most.

Review.


	4. Striaton and the First Gym Battle

Next chapter! Also, hooray for Pokemon X and Y!

I don't own anything.

* * *

Miharu wasn't quite sure it had all come to be this way.

After the encounter and brief battle with N, he had been approached by the two "trainers" (Not warriors. The notion boggled his mind to be honest) who were now currently walking ahead of him. They had approached him after his battle along with another male, Cheren, if he was remembering correctly. Touya had been enthusiastic and Touko had shared the same excitement.

Cheren hadn't seemed all that interested even though he had scrutinized the elder over with a calculating gaze. They had talked, even though Miharu felt overwhelmed by Touya's prodding, and, somehow, he had found himself accompanying the two on their journey to reach the Unova League.

It was probably a blessing in disguise though. They were native to this land and knew their way around the happenings of this place. Miharu was grateful for that at the very least.

"Miharu! Hurry up or we're going to leave you behind!" Touko called out to him.

"Okay!" he shouted pack, his strides increasing their reach as he quickened his pace. Torchic went to a full on run to keep his place at his human's side. Touya grinned easily, "Striaton City should be coming up soon."

"Yeah. And our first gym battle," Touko agreed, "I can hardly wait."

Miharu blinked and looked back and forth between the two, "You two are awfully excited. Is this "gym battle" that important?"

"Of course! It's necessary to beat eight of them to get into the Unova league."

Brown eyebrows furrowed here as Miharu pondered on this new information. Gyms... leagues... and why eight gyms? Touya glanced at him and asked, "Don't you have gyms in your region?"

"Nothing of the sort."

"Really?" Touko asked curiously, "That's strange. I thought all regions had them."

Miharu didn't add anything more to the conversation when she said that. Talking about Ransei wasn't what he wanted to do right and he really wanted the conversation to be diverted elsewhere.

"Ah ha! We're here!" Touya declared loudly. Striaton City was there at the end of the dirt path they had been following through the wilderness. Both of the twins broke out into runs suddenly, startling their older companion.

"Hey!" Miharu shouted and ran after them.

"Chic!" Torchic cried out and sprinted, trying to keep up.

* * *

Upon reaching the city the trio headed right for the gym. Well, it was more like the twins went to the gym and Miharu had no choice but to be dragged along. Not that he wasn't curious to see what a gym looked like, far from it. The trio came to a stop in front of the building which had a sign on the front.

Out for business, will be back soon.

"Aw man!" Touya whined and put his arms behind his head. Touko frowned in disappointment as well, but a part of her was also somewhat relieved. Miharu stood there with a blank expression on his face, "How do they know someone isn't going to come in and take over their gym?"

"Huh?" the twins asked in unison.

"How do they know that people aren't going to follow their statement and wait for them to come back?" Miharu continued. The blank stares he got back in return made him turn away, "N-never mind..."

"Uh-huh..." was the dual response. Miharu's face went a little pink out of embarrassment and Torchic chuckled at his predicament. Blue eyes sent him a annoyed look to which the fire pokemon only laughed harder. Touya glanced around the city, "So... what should we do to kill time?"

Touko adopted a thoughtful pose, "We could look around for a bit. Maybe get in a little training before taking on the gym leader."

"That does sound like a good idea," her brother agreed. He turned to Miharu, "What do you think?"

"Hm? I'm fine with whatever you two decide." _'Since I'm not knowledgeable about anything here...'_

Torchic chirped his agreement. The twins both took charge and Miharu followed in suit as they went about to find something to do. Striaton was about the same size as Accumula Town but it had its own look going on for it. Touya and Touko both pointed out different things and would answer Miharu's questions with enthusiastic explanations.

Miharu listened intently to their words and drew parallels between this lands customs and his own. So far, there were only a few similarities. Just as Touko was explaining to him the purpose of the Pokemon League when a incessant ringing noise came from the twins. Both of them pulled out strange devices and looked to see at who was calling them.

"It's the Professor," Touko said as she hit the answer button. Miharu blinked, "Professor?"

"Yeah. Prof. Juniper is the one who gave us our first pokemon."

"Oh?" Miharu asked. The twins both said hello to the image of a woman in a lab coat that popped up on the small device.

"Touko! Touya! how are you both doing?"

"We're doing fine. We just got to Stration and were going to challenge the gym but..." Touko trailed off. Touya finished the sentence, "They weren't there. So we're just wandering around."

"That so? Then if you have nothing to do right now you could go meet my friend, Fennel," Prof. Juniper suggested, "She does research there in Striaton."

Miharu leaned out from behind the twin, Torchic jumping up and down to see what the fuss was all about. From the screen, Prof. Juniper saw him and blinked in suprise. That boy was dressed in clothes unlike anything she had ever seen before.

"Who is that behind you?"

Touya answered, "This is Miharu. He's new to the region and is traveling with us."

The Ransei warrior looked towards the screen and bowed his head a little in greeting, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Tor! Torchic, chic!" Torchic flailed about and chirped loudly. It was a comical sight and Miharu rubbed the back of his head, "Don't worry, none of us didn't forget you were here," Miharu caught the bird pokemon in mid-jump and he held him up, "This is my partner, Torchic."

"Chic!" Torchic chirped in greeting.

"A Torchic? That's a rare pokemon for the Unove region," Prof. Juniper said, "Did you come here from Hoenn?"

Miharu's expression became uncomfortable, "Uh, no. I'm from a region that's not that well-known."

The professor took on a thoughtful posture, "Is that so? Nevertheless, it's very nice to make your acquaintance, Miharu."

"Un."

Touko and Touya chatted with her for a few more minutes before they finished the call and hung up. All three of them decided that it would be best to follow her suggestion and go see Fennel. The only thing left to do was find Fennel's Lab or the woman herself.

"Ah!"

"What's wrong, sis?"

"We never asked Prof. Juniper what Ms. Fennel looked like!"

The feeling of being hit by a Roggenrola's Rockslide overcame everyone, Torchic sighing in response to it all. This was going to be a hassle, he could tell. But as luck would have it they did end up finding Prof. Fennel, or rather she found them. Fennel was very hospitable and invited them to her lab so that she could show them her research.

Apparently, she had been working on a machine to see the dreams of pokemon.

"As you can see," Fennel spoke while the younger trie in the room looked around in amazement, "This is the dream machine that displays the dreams of pokemon."

"It's really big."

"Yes," Fennel nodded her head, "but it's not quite finished yet."

Miharu glanced at her, "Why not?"

"I need Dream Mist carried by the Munna that live in the Dreamyard," Fennel explained. Touko tilted her head and pulled out her Pokedex to look up information about Munna. Miharu spotted her doing this, "Touya, don't you have something like that?"

"Yep, I have a Pokedex too," the other male replied. The warrior's rather sporadic curiosity peaked even more, "Do all war-trainers have an artifact like it?"

"I don't think so...?" Touya said, "I mean, I don't know any other dex holders besides myself, my sister, Cheren, and Bel."

"You know Bel?" Fennel asked. Both males turned to her and Touya responded, "Yeah, she's our childhood friend. Why?"

"I just remembered. I asked a girl by that name to go to the Dreamyard for me but she hasn't come back yet... Could you maybe go check on her?"

"Yeah, I will," Touya then turned to his sister, "Touko, are you going to come?"

"I'll come," Touko replied. Miharu made a move to get up when Fennel cut him off, "Actually Miharu, could you stay here? There are some questions I'd like to ask you."

"Huh? But..."

"Don't worry. It's just a few questions."

His traveling companions turned back to him as they stepped towards the door of the lab, "We'll come right back and then we'll all go to the Striaton Gym."

"Ah-fine," Miharu relented. Touko waved as the door started to hide the two from view and they were gone, leaving Miharu and Torchic with Fennel. The female scientist turned to him and smiled brightly, "Okay, first question."

Miharu braced himself for a lengthy Q and A session while Torchic sat at his side looking amused.

* * *

In the Dreamyard, Touko and Touya walked into the weathered ruins of what used to be a building. Touko stopped and looked around, "Hey, Touya, do you think it was okay for us to leave Miharu like that?"

"He's with Prof. Fennel, right? He should be fine."

"Okay..."

The twins both froze when they heard Bel's voice yelling out within the building but were unabe to make out just what she was saying. They both broke out into sprints and headed for where here voice was coming from.

"Bel!" Touko called out to the blonde girl, "Bel, what's wrong?!"

"Touko! Touya!" Bel had a distraught expression on her face. In her arms was her Tepig that looked very beaten and could barely keep her eyes open. Touya noticed, "What happened?!"

"It's horrible! These weirdly-dressed people are beating up that poor Munna over there!" Bel pointed to her left. The twins followed the direction just in time to see those Team Plasma people who were indeed kicking a small pink pokemon.

Both felt enraged and shocked by the display.

"Hey! Stop it!"

The Plasma grunts both looked up and one of them snorted, "Why should we?"

"Because you're hurting that Munna!"

"So?" the other one asked, "It has Dream Mist and Team Plasma needs it for the cause of pokemon liberation."

Again with the pokemon liberation thing. Touya narrowed his eyes, "And that gives you the right to do this? What kind of sick, twisted logic is that?!"

"Noisy brat," the Plasma Grunt growled, pulling out a pokeball. His partner did the same and they both released their pokemon, a Patrat and Lillipup. The normal-types both gave out cries of challenge while Touko and touya both stepped in front of Bel. Touko turned back to her childhood friend, "Don't worry Bel, we'll take care of this. You go help that Munna."

"R-right!" Bel ran past the two grunts and knelt down to check on the poor Psychic-type pokemon. Touya pulled out Oshawott's pokeball and his sister pulled out Minccino's.

"Minccino/Oshawott, I choose you!"

"Cchi!"

"Osha!"

Both pokemon landed on the ground in front of their trainers, ready for battle. Both Plasma Grunts smirked, clearly confident in their chance at victory. They were the first to call out their attacks, "Patrat, tackle!"

"You too Lillipup, use tackle!"

The pokemon both charged on the order and the distance between them and their opponents shrank rapidly. Minccino scampered out of the way, Patrat pursuing her, while Oshawott got hit by Lillipup.

"Wott!" the otter pokemon yelped, rolling on the ground backwards a few feet. Touya didn't miss a beat, "Oshawott, tackle them back!"

"Osha!" Oshawott was back on his feet in a flash and rushed down the Lillipup with his own tackle. Minccino was dancing around and away from her own opponent. The Patrat was becoming more and more frustrated the more his hits got nothing but air. The grunt giving him orders reflected the same frustration Patrat was feeling, "Stop dodging you little-!"

"Minccino, Double Slap!" Touko declared. The Chinchilla pokemon ran towards the Patrat, her paws glowing white with power. She pounced upon him and began to repeatedly slap him on the face.

"What?!"

"Oshawott, finish it off with water gun!" Touya declared. The stream of water left the little pokemon's mouth and nailed its intended trget dead on. The Lillipup fell onto the ground unconscious, followed by Patrat that was now sporting huge swollen cheeks from the abuse he had taken from the Double Slap onslaught.

"Plasmaaaa! I can't believe this!"

"How could we lose to two kids?!"

"We should retreat for now," and with that, both Plasma Grunts were off in a flash, taking their pokemon with them. Touko and Touya watched them go with bewilderment written all over their faces. Oshawott and Minccino had the same expressions as their trainers.

"Touko, Touya, are they gone?" Bel ran back to them, the now-bandaged up Munna floating behind her. They turned back to her, snapping out of their dazes, "Yeah, they're gone."

The blonde girl sighed and smiled, "Oh, that's a relief. I took care of this little one like you told me to."

"Nna. Munna," the Munna floated to each and everyone of them as if to say thank you. Bel giggled when it nuzzled her before looking back at the twins, "By the way, what are you two doing here?"

"Prof. Fennel told us to come check on you," Touko answered, "Speaking of which, we should probably get back. Miharu is still waiting for us."

"Miharu?" Bel tilted her head, "Who's that?"

"A guy we met in Accumula Town," Touya said as they started walking back, "He's traveling with us."

* * *

They all got back to Fennel's lab safely and Bel was able to give the professor the Dream Mist she wanted. Miharu looked rather tired and when Touko asked, his response was to mumble something about "interrogations" and fall into a mental slump. Torchic had a sympathetic look on his face for his human partner.

Bel had recognized Miharu when she saw him, "Hey! You're the person I bumped into in Accumula Town!"

"Hm?" the older male turned towards her. The blonde girl had approached him and was looking back and forth between him and Torchic with a wide smile, "I had no idea that Touko and Touya were traveling with you. I'm Bel, you're Miharu right?"

"Yes. That's my name."

"Nice to meet you, Miharu," Bel said cheerily. Miharu nodded his head, "You too, Bel."

"Now that I think about it," Touko started, "Shouldn't the gym be open now?"

Touya nodded, "Yeah. It's been a while so we should go check and see."

Hearing that, Miharu got back up and Torchic followed him as they followed them back to the door. Touko turned around, "Bel, are you coming too?"

"No, I'm going to stay here a little longer," Bel said, "That, and I'd like to try and catch a Munna in the Dreamyard."

"Okay," Touko nodded, "Later Bel."

They also waved Prof. Fennel good-bye before leaving the lab. All three of them headed for Striaton Gym, which was now-open since the sign was taken down. They all entered the gym to come out into a restruant instead. Miharu blinked and looked around at the foreign decor and interior designs with interest.

"This is..."

"A restruant," Touya said flatly, his brows furrowed in confusion.

"Welcome," three boys said in unison. All of them were dressed in waiter uniforms, the striking difference between them being their hair colors. One had green hair, one blue, and the last had red. Torchic stared intently at the one with red hair with immense interest.

"I am Pod," the red-haired introduced himself.

"Corn," the blue-haired one said.

"And I am Dent," the green-haired one finished. In perfect unison, they all bowed to the three, "How may we serve you today?"

"..." Miharu just blinked in complete bewilderment. These were what Gym leaders were like? If that was the case, then what would the battleground look like?

"Chic, chic," Torchic chirped. Touko and Touya both stepped forward, "We're here to challenge the Striaton Gym."

Corn's one visible eye widened briefly before he gave a soft professional smile, "Is that so? Pod, Dent, you heard them; they are here to challenge us."

Pod grinned with exuberance, "All right!"

Dent nodded, "Then we shouldn't disappoint them." He turned to the three standing before them, "Is it all of you that will be fighting?"

At the question, Touko and Touya both turned to Miharu and he shifted a little. When their gazes didn't leave him he opened his mouth, "W-what?"

"They're asking you if you're going to battle, Miharu," Touko clarified. The warrior, finally comprehending the situation, answered the three gym leaders, "Uh, no. I'm not competing."

Torchic felt a small pang of disappointment at Miharu's answer, but at the same time, he could understand why his human refused. Dent nodded his head then motioned for them to follow him, "Very, well. Let us show you to the gym's arena."

Both trios walked to the back of the gym and came out to the gym's arena that was behind the restruant. Miharu was directed to the spectator's stands while the twins went to the challenger's side of the field.

_'So this is a gym arena,'_ Miharu thought to himself. It had been decided that this gym battle would be a double battle instead of the standard single battles that were a custom amongst gyms and tournaments in general. Torchic sat down on his lap and chirped up at him.

"We should pay attention, shouldn't we."

"Tor!"

Touya and Touko gazed at their opponents on the other side of the field. They would be fighting Dent and Pod, Corn acting as the referee.

"Battle, begin!"

"All right, Pansear let's go!"

"Come my vintage, Pansage!"

The two monkey-looking pokemon came out of their pokeballs and landed on their feet. Touya and Touko both released Minccino and Oshawott who were ready for battle.

"Let's go!"

The four pokemon clashed with their trainers giving out commands. As Miharu watched, he found himself rooted to his seat and fought the urge to blink. If he blinked he might miss something vital; that is what he felt. Torchic's eyes shone with excitement at the battle.

"Double Slap!" Touko ordered.

"Mincchi!" Minccino charged at Pansage, paw outstretched to slap. Dent hummed, "Pansage, Bullet Seed."

"Pan!" the Grass-type took a deep breath and fired a barrage of seeds at Minccino. The chinchilla pokemon gasped and was stopped in her tracks, "Cchi, cchi!"

"Minccino!"

"Oshawott, Water Gun!" Touya yelled. The otter pokemon complied and fired off the attack that sped right for Pansear. The Fire-type yelped and was blasted off his feet. The fire-type fell onto the ground with swirls in his eyes.

"Pansear!"

Minccino managed to endure the Bullet Seed barrage and shook it off, "You okay, Minccino?"

"Cchi!"

"Okay, use Tail Sweep!"

The normal-type charged again and swept out her tail. Pansage jumped up but Minccino followed and slapped him down with her tail. Pansage slammed into the ground, creating a crater, and was knocked out cold.

"Pansage and Pansear are unable to battle," Corn raised the green flag, "Touko and Touya are the winners."

"All right, we did it!" Touya cheered with his sister. Oshawott and Minccino both cheered and ran back to their trainers, feeling proud of the win. Up in the stands, Miharu realized he had been leaning over the railing the whole time, gripping the metal beneath him. He let go of it and took a deep breath.

"Torchic... Are all gym battles this intense?"

"Tor," Torchic shrugged, but he could tell that the gears in the warrior's head were turning. Miharu watched the twins get presented with one of the eight badges that they needed by the gym leaders they had defeated and made a decision.

He would keep traveling with these two for a little longer.

* * *

End chapter.

Ngh, sorry it feels rushed. But it got very lengthy after a while. And I have to go back and correct my spelling of Minccino's name in the previous chapter.

Edit: I'm a moron. It was Dream Mist, not smoke.

Review.


	5. To Nacrene City

Next chapter.

I don't own Pokemon, it belongs to Gamefreak and Nintendo.

* * *

It was morning in Striaton City and the world was still waking up from the long night. The doors of the Pokemon Center slid open and Touya walked out, stretching his arms over his head. There was a loud pop from his back as he got the kinks out from his sleep and he rubbed his eyes a little.

"Sleep well?" Touko asked as she walked out, followed by Miharu who was carrying a half-awake Torchic.

"Yeah."

"Mmhm."

Both of the males responded at the same time. Torchic chirped tiredly, leaning back against Miharu's chest plate. The morning light was slowly peeking out from behind the tall buildings, but the long shadows prevented any of it from reaching the trainers and traveler. Starting today, they would be leaving Striaton City behind them and moving on to the next town where the next gym was.

There's was also the small need to find some new pokemon partners too since they had the Pokedex to worry about too.

"So the next gym is in Nacrene City," Touya rattled off as he held the town map in his hand and continued walking with his sister and Miharu. The paper rustled as it was folded back up into a tiny square, "That'll take at least a day to get there."

"Maybe we should take some time to catch ourselves some new pokemon," Touko suggested.

Her brother's face split into a enthusiastic grin, "Yeah! That sounds good."

As the twins began chatting with one another, Miharu silently contemplated with himself. More pokemon partners would be nice. The question was whether he would be able to Link with them or not. He was also interested in how Touko and Touya planned to "catch" more pokemon to add to their team. Seeing their enthusiasm, Miharu couldn't help but feel excited himself. It was infectious and could lift anyone's spirits if one were to allow it.

"Oh yeah," Touya looked as if he had an epiphany, "Hey Miharu, is Torchic the only pokemon you have?"

"Hm? Yes," Miharu nodded, "He is the only one."

"Huh..." the younger mused to himself. Torchic chose that moment to fully wake up and Miharu looked down at the fire bird, "Sleep well?"

"Chic!"

Torchic was let down by his partner and ran ahead joyfully in the sunlight. Touko and Touya both let out their pokemon for some fresh air and to let them walk with them. Oshawott bounded down the road happily with Minccino following in suit.

Above them, a flock of Pidove flew overhead with loud chirps and coos. The trio briefly looked up to watch them go by and into the sunny horizon ahead. Patrats, Deerlings, and few bug pokemon were wandering the areas around them, making the walk a little more lively. A slight breeze blew across the ground, making a few leaves on the surrounding trees rustle.

The wild pokemon went about their daily activities without a care in the world.

"Oh cool! A Sewaddle!" Touya's excited cry broke the relatively peaceful atmosphere. Sure enough, the aforementioned Bug/Grass type pokemon was crawling through the bushes a little ways off the path. Miharu recognized it right off, having seen a few wandering warriors with them when he had been younger. The shorter brunet reached into his bag to pull out that small circular device; a Pokeball.

Touko had also spotted a Petilil and her expression mirrored her brother's. They both called over their respective partners and began the process of "catching" the pokemon that had caught their eyes. Torchic went back to Miharu while the warrior watched both of his traveling companions with intense focus.

"Oshawott, use Tackle on Sewaddle!"

"Osha!"

The water-type charged forward at the still-oblivious pokemon. Sewaddle stopped briefly in her crawling and only noticed Oshawott when it was too late for her to even attempt dodging. Oshawott's body slammed into hers and she was sent tumbling briefly.

"Waddle!" Her rolling had come to a stop and she was flat on her belly, completely winded. Touya threw the Pokeball at the Sewaddle and it connected with the top of her head. Miharu watched in fascination as it sucked the Sewaddle right up and dropped to the ground. The small white circle in the center beeped and shook a few times before the Sewaddle burst out from it.

"Argh!" Touya shouted in frustration, "It was so close!"

Off on the side, Touko was doing a little bit better than her brother. She worked to exhaust the Petilil enough so she would be able to catch it more easily. The grass type was proving to be a very challenging opponent though.

"Lil!" Mincinno was bombarded by a barrage of razor leaves and she curled her body up, trying to protect herself and failing.

"C-chii, chii..."

"Hang in there Minccino!"

"Chii!" Minccino became determined from her trainer's encouragement and barreled straight for Petilil. The grass type's eyes widened in surprise before the furry body slammed in it and sent it straight into the tree behind it. It hit hard and landed on the ground completely out cold.

"Go, Pokeball!"

For Touko, her capture was successful and the ball stopped shaking after one final 'beep.' Touya followed soon after with his own capture, his second attempt being more successful this time around.

"All right!" the two of them cheered in unison.

_'So they engage the pokemon in battle, weaken them, and use those Pokeballs to capture them...'_ Miharu thought to himself while his two companions continued their celebration. He turned the information over in his head and mentally added it to his "things to know about foreign warriors known as trainers." He got up to his feet and walked over to the two of them, "All done?"

"Yep."

The group resumed their walking after that.

* * *

It was in the middle of the afternoon when they all stopped for a rest and some food. Touko and Touya released their two new companions who were surprisingly amicable despite being beaten up by the two of them. Miharu wrote it off as the pokemon probably respecting the strength of the two kids who had caught them.

They all sat down beneath of the great trees on the side of the road and began preparing lunch for themselves. Touko and Touya brought bowls and cans of pokemon food for their partners while Torchic watched Miharu rummage through his bag. He finally found the ponigiri he had packed and brought it out. Torchic hopped on over to watch him unwrap the food from their leaf-like wraps.

"Here you go," Miharu said, setting one of them down for Torchic. The fire-type chirped in happiness and started to eat. He smiled at the sight and took a bite out of his own ponigiri. Touya looked over at him, "Hey, Miharu, what are you eating?"

"Ponigiri."

"Is that from your homeland too?" Touko joined in on the conversation. Miharu nodded his head in affirmative instead of voicing an answer. The three of them made small talk with one another as they ate, their pokemon devouring their food with much gusto. Their rest period passed by peacefully with the warm day and the humans of the group all crowded around each other to look at the map. The pokemon took the time to run around and play with one another as they did this.

"All right," Touya said, getting to his feet, "Time to keep going!"

He pulled out Sewaddle and Oshawott's Pokeballs to return the two pokemon inside them. Touko did the same for her's while Torchic ran over to Miharu's side. They continued to walk towards Nacrene City and the next gym for the twins to challenge. Evening came upon them rather quickly and they veered off the path to make camp for the night.

Miharu rolled out his bed roll on the ground while the twins brought out their sleeping bags. They were all close enough to their campfire to keep warm but not close enough to catch on fire. The warrior pulled his headband off and began to un-clip his armor, stacking them all neatly by his satchel until he was in black undershirt and pants.

"Goodnight."

Crawling into their respective sleeping areas, they all began to nod off into dreamland. Miharu was the last to fall asleep, Torchic already blowing snot bubbles from his beak when he finally did. His last thoughts were of the next day ahead of them and what the next gym would be like.

He was actually looking forward to it.

* * *

End chapter.

It's fillery but it's a transition. The chapters after this should be getting a little more better and I'll have more time because school is almost done. I'm not going to copy/paste all of the game scenarios, or try not to at least.

Review.


End file.
